The First Love is Always Your Last
by scorpion22
Summary: James finds himself in a situation he's unsure of when a woman from his past comes back to haunt his afterlife. He wants desperately to go to her even as he knows it is better if he stays away. How long will he be able to watch her from the sidelines or will be not be able to resist making his presence known? M for later chapters. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing.

Chapter 1

"The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power" James Patrick March didn't know who said that, but he tried to practice it in his afterlife by not dwelling on the past before opening his hotel.

"My work is unfinished. I must find someone to finish it" he would rave to Miss. Evers in-between bouts of killing and dinners with Elizabeth his afterlife consumed with the idea, but even then, James found he was content with that. However, James wasn't always successful with that. Sometimes, he found himself drawn to his past, but more so to the woman that had consumed it. She was the only one, the one person that dwelled on his mind in the form of a memory more than he could help. Though every time she did, James loved it because her memory made his dead heart beat again if only for a moment; he found himself still lovestruck even at her memory. Lorretta. His wife, his first and only love, James found himself thinking of her far too often.

He had met her when he was young, before he had a cent to his name, and he had loved her at first sight. She had been born Lorretta Wilson and he had made her Lorretta March once he had the money. She had been his queen, by his side through it all when he had lost her, so soon. James liked to think of their time together as the happiest of his life even the days when he was broke. He liked to think of her as his soulmate, his one true love, and even after remarrying, her memory was something Elizabeth simply couldn't compare to. Sometimes, when things were particularly bad between them, James would find himself closing his eyes to picture her face behind his closed eyes. He would always keep her memory in the back of his mind and his heart, always there to sooth him at the worst of times. She was the only person to ever truly understand him and even after she was gone that didn't change.

"I promise to love, honor, and cherish you as long as we both shall live" James remembered promising Lorretta that on their wedding day, but now whenever he remembered her, he thought those words wrong because she had been dead, so long, and even as he died himself James was still keeping that promise; he knew he would always love her and cherish her as his wife even in death.

In the beginning, he had thought Elizabeth could be her again, that he could transform her into the woman he had known, but it didn't happen. "I'm dead dear, not stupid" James told Elizabeth that all the time and in truth he had never been a stupid man, he had known why Elizabeth was marrying him, but he thought he could make her fall in love with him even as it continued to be a hopeless endeavor, for Lorretta had married him because she loved him, James learned though that Elizabeth could never be her; she would never love him the way Lorretta had.

"All that matters is you and me, James" Lorretta had said that to him before he had a dime, when he had refused to marry her because he wanted to be able to take care of her; now, James always wished he'd married her sooner even if they wouldn't have had a thing, he would have gotten more time with her, something he desperately wanted after he lost her. That was why when it came to dwelling on his past, James didn't mind dwelling on her. Because even after decades, he still missed her. He still loved her and remembered her even in this, his afterlife. Lorretta was the greatest part of his life. The only good part of it he wished to remember sometimes. It was why he was drawn to her again when she walked back into his life eighty years later.

It was like history was repeating itself as he spotted her, a reincarnation of the woman he'd loved, leaning against the bar in his hotel. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on as she stood, her heels making her impossibly tall, her strawberry blond hair pinned up atop her head to contrast with her creamy golden skin, a dress of blue shimmery material clinging to her.

"It can't be her" James felt the words drift through his mind even as he kept looking at her unwilling to let himself believe that she had really returned to him as he watched her smile handing a slip of paper to Liz who then came to walk by him.

"Who is that young woman?" James whispered his eyes still watching her. In that same moment, she caught him watching, but it seemed to stop her short.

"Oh! That's Lorretta…why do you ask?" whispered Liz her voice cautious as she let her gaze go from James to the girl his eyes fixed on her in a way she'd never seen.

"Lorretta…her names still Lorretta" James gasped fixing his eyes on the bald woman now his eyes almost crazed with joy. Any doubts he had seemed to go away then as he stared Liz down hoping she wasn't playing some joke on him. He knew she couldn't be, she didn't even know he'd been married before Elizabeth, and looking at the girl once more he felt something inside him shiver. He couldn't believe that after all this time she was standing in front of him again.

"Yes, her name is Lorretta Walker. I just hired her to work here as a waitress. What's going on?" exclaimed Liz not understanding what was happening, but following his gaze once more, she shook her head. If he planned on killing the girl, she already planned to put a stop to it. She liked the girl, she'd already taken her under her wing, and she wasn't about to let her be murdered in this hotel. The longer she watched him watch her though, Liz got the feeling that wasn't it. James was ignoring her now, his eyes solely on the girl, and shaking her head, Liz took Lorretta the drinks still trying to figure it out long after she walked away with them.

"Please don't hurt her, James, that poor girls been through enough" whispered Liz when she approached him again making him look at her dead in the eye as the words were said. James wanted to ask what she meant. To know what she had been through, but he didn't. He merely nodded their eyes lingering together until Liz walked away again allowing his eyes to return to her. After that, he watched her more discreetly over the rim of his glass, and as he did James realized how much he had missed her. How much he wanted to go up to her and take her into his arms, but he knew now was not the time. He had to be patient. So, he watched her from afar, a dreamy look in his eyes. Liz watched him watching her all night. She had never seen the man look so starstruck in all the time she'd known him. Not even when he gazed upon his wife Elizabeth. It was a bit alarming even as it was endearing.

After the bar was empty for the night, she sent Lorretta home, but James remained sitting where he was nursing the same drink. When Liz sat down beside him, he almost jumped his eyes widening as she drew him from his thoughts. Neither said anything as she topped off his glass, a bottle of bourbon on the bar as she stared at him asking for answers without really asking. James only looked away at first, peering down into his drink as if his answers floated in the amber liquid.

"What's going on? Why were you staring at Lorretta Walker all night?" whispered Liz her voice still stern as she watched him. As cautious as she was around the original owner of the hotel, Liz felt the need to protect her new friend, and staring him down, she made it clear she wanted an answer. James wasn't even sure how to explain it as he looked at the bar countless memories racing through his mind. He spared the woman a glance as he tried to find the words, but still they remained stuck in his head. He couldn't just say he thought she was his dead wife reincarnated even if that was the answer. In the end, James could only down his drink holding the glass out to be refilled before daring to speak the truth.

"She is the spitting image of my wife" whispered James letting her refill his glass.

"No, she isn't. Elizabeth and Lorretta look the exact opposite" exclaimed Liz not getting the chance to finish. James cut her off before she could his voice holding hints of a type of joy, she'd never experienced with him even in the heights of a good kill. He slammed his glass down on the bar, the sound filling the room, and looking her square in the eye he was shaking as he began to speak.

"No…she looks nothing like Elizabeth. I was married before Elizabeth and that woman is the exact image of my first wife. They even have the same name…I think she is her reincarnation or some type of living ghost…I don't know, but she is the very image of the woman I loved" exclaimed James becoming more incensed as he went before suddenly he stopped speaking seeming to sink back into his thoughts as a smile fell onto his face.

"You were married before Elizabeth?" exclaimed Liz hardly able to believe it.

"I was. Her name was Lorretta too…Lorretta Wilson…even their initials are the same. I loved her dearly. When we met, I had nothing, but she didn't care. She loved me as I did her and wanted to marry me before I made my fortune, but I wouldn't. Not until I could take proper care of her, but once I was a made man…I went back to her…I proclaimed my love for her, and I married her. She was the dearest thing to my heart, my greatest love…even Elizabeth never quite compared" whispered James his voice wistful and listening to him, Liz recognized the pain and faint traced of happiness laced within his words and then she saw them too in the expression on his face.

"I never knew you loved anyone other then the Countess. The way you look at her…well…it was nothing compared to how you looked at Lorretta tonight. What happened to her…your first wife? Does Elizabeth know?" said Liz looking around her to see it the woman in question had somehow been summoned by them saying her name too many times. It was still just the two of them as Liz gave him her attention once more on the edge of her seat as he continued.

"No…I never told Elizabeth…I never thought I'd marry again. I especially never thought I'd marry a woman like Elizabeth. Lorretta married me for love while Elizabeth did it simply for my money. Lorretta wouldn't have approved of it. They wouldn't have liked each other at all…and at the time, I still missed Lorretta so much. I suppose, as much as I thought I loved Elizabeth, I just didn't want to be alone anymore. I thought maybe Elizabeth would grow to love me as Lorretta had but she didn't. I thought I could somehow get Lorretta back, but Elizabeth was a dull replacement in comparison. After a while, I was glad she didn't know about her, glad she didn't try to be her because it was impossible. Lorretta was my one true love, I never stopped loving her even now that I am dead. If she had lived, I would never have married Elizabeth" said James not believing as the feelings he'd never dared speak aloud were vented to this woman.

"Wow…I'm sorry you lost her…how did she die…I'm assuming it wasn't in the hotel or she'd be another ghost here" whispered Liz finding she felt sorry for him for the first time since meeting him. James smiled for a moment wishing her words were true. Wishing Lorretta had lived to see the hotel he built in her memory. Wishing she was here to share his afterlife as he had shared his life with her. And then he remembered the girl he'd spent the night staring at, and he smiled still. Maybe she was his second chance to be with the woman he loved.

"She got sick with influenza…she fought, so hard…she didn't want to leave me, but in 1918…everybody was dying, she wasn't spared" whispered James a single tear leaving him.

"I'm sorry…I can see how much you loved her, but…James…this Lorretta and your Lorretta might be two different people. This might be her reincarnation, but even if that's true that doesn't make her yours. She is someone different with no memory of that life and can you imagine how she'll react if you tell her? Besides, if Elizabeth gets wind of this…she won't like it, I mean, she may not love you, but she thinks of you as hers and there's no telling what she'll do if she finds you chasing after your dead wife or her reincarnation or…whatever this is. Lorretta could get hurt because I know for a fact Elizabeth won't let anyone else have you no matter how she might feel" exclaimed Liz still looking around her for a trace of the Countess as she stood to walk away feeling sympathy for the man as she looked back only to find him still sitting there. As she did, James knew she was right.

Whether that girl was his Lorretta or not, James would make sure nothing harmed her. It was in her best interest that he stay away. He knew he would never forgive himself if something were to happen to her especially if Elizabeth were to harm her. He knew he would just have to watch her from afar and pretend there was nothing between them, but downing the last of his drink, it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"She's better off" James let the thought pass through his mind as he returned to his room the place feeling emptier than usual as he sat in his favorite chair, lighting a cigarette only to stare at it as it burned itself away. After a moment, he opened a drawer removing a photograph he kept hidden there. And there they were, Lorretta and himself, on their wedding day. He remembered that day like it had been yesterday. It had been the best day of his life. She had walked down the aisle to him on her father's arm in a dress of cream-colored lace that clung to her in all the right places. He remembered meeting her eyes as she approached, and they had shared a smile before her father set her hand in his giving her to him for the rest of their lives. Her smile had reached her eyes as well as his. He stood next to her in his tux his eyes on her as he held her close in the picture, they looked meant to be, and gazing down at the photo, James knew that was because they had been.

"I love you, my darling" James didn't even realize it as the words slipped free from his lips the memory of that day slipping into his mind, for he remembered the moment when this picture was taken, how he had kissed her soundly seconds after the camera flashed. Looking, remembering, part of him wanted to do as Liz said. To protect her from afar, while another desperately wanted to find a way for her to remember, but then he thought of Elizabeth. She could take Lorretta from him again and he knew he could never love her as long as Lorretta lived on in any form. To protect her, he knew he just had to stand aside.


	2. No Regrets

Chapter 2

Standing aside was harder then James could have believed. He saw her as he stood in the shadows of the bar and every time, he could swear he was looking at his Lorretta. Ms. Lorretta Walker brought all his memories of her bursting forward. So much so that he somehow knew this was her somehow returned to him, but this time much to his frustration, he couldn't have her. To protect her, he had to stay away from her, but James found he couldn't. Now that he knew she existed, he couldn't unknow that, so that was why he hid in the shadows now. Protecting her from afar, noticing as he watched her just how much she resembled his Lorretta, both in beauty, and in mannerism. This Lorretta walked with the same flirty sway to her hips, she hummed in the same low tenor producing the same sound, and there was more. She even possessed Lorretta fine quirks. The way she scrunched up her nose before she sneezed or how she licked her lips when deep in thought as she tried to do something with care. With each little action that he hadn't seen in so long, the more James knew, this wasn't just a place of fate. This was his Lorretta returned to him, finally.

"Jimmy" James felt drawn back then as he remembered the way she used to say his name in that same moment hearing as Ms. Walker laughed making him even more sure of who she was.

James didn't know why she did it or who made her do it, but when the sound drifted back to him as he sat in a booth unnoticed in the depths of the bar, James found himself taken back to another time. He had been a budding youth of eighteen then, without a cent to his name, but he was trying to work his way up. He had been working as a shop keepers assistant among other things for the wealthiest man in the county, Walter Fitz, when Lorretta had walked in.

"If you want to be something in this world, Jimmy, you can't expect to have it handed to you. You have to work for it" Walter had taught him that from the very beginning, teaching him everything he needed to know to gain all he had today. He had just started letting James do his books and exiting the office, he had seen Lorretta leaning up against the counter.

She was in the middle of a brilliant burst of laughter. The sound of it had stopped James, leaving him to stand in the aisle closest to the counter, just staring. He hadn't come out of it until Walter spotted him as he came up from the freezer. His mentor had startled him as he clasped his shoulder his eyes on Lorretta as well. James had been drawn away from her then, glancing only briefly at Walter before letting his eyes return to Lorretta. James knew she had his heart from that very moment.

" Who is that young woman?" James whispered it as she turned as if feeling his eyes on her.

" That's Lorretta Wilson, her old man lives up the road. You've met Al Wilson, the farmer who comes in for supplies. He sends Lorretta from time to time" said Walter, James could tell he knew James was already smitten with her. James didn't have time to contemplate that though. He was too far gone to consider anything at that point. Because suddenly, Lorretta was looking back at him, and she was smiling. Her eyes shined as she did so and James could swear he stopped breathing. That everything stopped in that moment as their eyes met. She was still leaning heavily against the counter, but her head had turned. Her smile held a type of promise, though at the time, he had known what that promise was. She sealed that promise with a wave that nearly brought him to his knees. It beckoned to him, but in that moment, James couldn't move. He no longer belonged to himself alone. From that moment on, he was hers, and hers alone.

" Come on, Jimmy. It's time to be a man and go talk to the pretty girl" whispered Walter then not giving James a chance to move of his own accord as Walter pushed him toward where Lorretta Wilson stood flirting with him from afar.

" How are you, Lorretta?" called Walter stopping when they were close enough that James could really get a good look at her.

" Wonderful, Mr. Fitz. Just running some errands for daddy. He's busy getting the crops ready for harvest so he couldn't come today" she said it with such pride in her voice. She was proud of her hard working father. Proud to be his daughter. She'd never cared about money or the need to struggle. Lorretta had been prepared for it her whole life. He'd fallen in love with her because of that and so much more. It was that moment in the shop though that got them started. As she spoke then James hadn't said a thing. He'd stared at her without denying it. Lorretta Wilson didn't need jewels or furs or fancy things to be beautiful to him. She hadn't had any of those things on that day. She was just a simple country girl. She never pretended to be anything more. She never needed it, for to him, she was always magnificently gorgeous, like a human jewel. James had fallen in love with her that way and that love never waned even when he had the money to give her those things. Her strawberry blonde hair had been pinned somewhat messily atop her head. He had had to stomp down the urge to run his fingers through it even that first day. Her skin had been windchaffed, but still beautiful in the dim shop lights. It had only added to the pink hue of her cheeks as she smiled at him, a sharp contrast to the gray storm that was her eyes. They contrasted with his almost perfectly as the two sets of orbs met, a brilliant flash of lightning seeming to sound all around them in that moment.

She wore a simple dress of tan gingham and when her voice called to him, he looked up to find her smiling at him.

" Who's this?" whispered Lorretta, James could feel her eyes admiring him then though at the time, he hadn't thought himself much to look at.

" This here's Jimmy March...I'm teaching him a thing or two" said Walter putting his arm around him the way a father would a son. James felt pride at that as he nodded his head at the girl.

" Miss. Lorretta, your orders all ready" called the shop boy, handing her a bundle. When he drew her attention away, James had felt his first murderous urges. He wanted to be her sole focus, but she didn't turn away for long. She returned to him with that same smile that seemed to only be reserved for him.

" Thank you...I better start home now" she said as she was looking at James though the words themselves weren't meant for him.

" It was nice meeting you, Jimmy, hopefully we meet again" said Lorretta her voice almost seductive as she gathered her bags giving him a final wave before exiting the shop. That didn't faze James though, for his eyes didn't leave the place where she had been. He felt unlike himself. Like something life changing had just come upon him. He had just met the love of his life, only, he wasn't deserving of her quite yet. He knew that even as he longed to see her again. He knew that even as he vowed to make himself worthy of her. It wasn't until Walter gave him a good shake that James blinked.

" I don't regret much, Jimmy, but I'll tell you. I had a woman like that come into my life once, I let her slip out of it too. Listen to me, don't let that one get away or years from now, you'll be regretting it too" his tone of voice was almost wistful and somehow James knew he was thinking of the one he spoke of. The one who slipped away. James let him lead him back to the office to look over the books, but James mind wasn't there. James didn't know what the future held in store for Lorretta Wilson and himself, he was keen to find out though. He would follow Walter's advice to the letter as best he could. He wouldn't let Lorretta Wilson go. James hadn't either. He had only grown to love her more after that. He'd made a fortune and made her his wife. He'd made a life for them and they had been happy. Until the very end.

James had no regrets as far as Lorretta was concerned. He hadn't let her become a memory or a regret as Walter had warned, but he had courted her. Made her his girl, his wife, his soulmate. And yet now, she had returned to him. His Lorretta had come back to him and he was just going to let her slip by this time? It didn't sit well with James even as he knew his reasons for doing it. He had watched her unnoticed for days, a nagging inside himself telling him this was a mistake. Even now, he sat in darkness, watching her, and suddenly, he knew. He couldn't just walk away. His soulmate had been given to him again, all he had to do was reclaim her as his own. To woo her like he did all those years ago and to hell with Elizabeth, Lorretta was the woman he'd always loved, and he wouldn't let her go. He would never let Elizabeth harm her or anyone else. James knew his mind was made up. That's what made him rise from the booth where he hid. He sat down at the center of the bar where the whole room could see him and watching her out of the corner of his eye, he waited. Liz was on him as soon as he sat down though, a prodective mother, and suddenly, James felt like he was a boy again. He would have to win her approval even as he knew he didn't really need it. He watched her refill his glass feeling shaky as he took a sip. This reminded him of a conversation he had long ago when he'd asked Lorretta's father for her hand.

" I thought me both agreed you should keep your distance. This is far from that...what are you doing?" her words came as a low hiss. James didn't have a good enough answer really as Liz stared him down waiting for an answer. He knew she was only trying to protect her friend even as he avoided her gaze. The truth was he knew why he was pursuing Lorretta even as he didn't. Everything just seemed all mixed around in his head, for even as his reasons seemed sure, he was still so unsure of them.

" I was wrong, Miss. Taylor. I can't just step aside. That woman is the woman I've always loved returned to me, I know she is. I can't just let her go. Somehow I know that would be a mistake" James said it in a burst of words that seemed to be all rushed together. The truth was James really didn't know what he was doing. He was very unsure of it all, but he didn't tell her that. His words did it for him though because suddenly Liz was looking at him with sympathy in her eyes. It was strange, she'd never seen James March so flustered, and vulnerable before. It was almost endearing.

" What about Eljzabeth?" her tone was soft then and James knew there was fear there too.

" I'll handle Elizabeth. You must understand, I love this woman, she is my Lorretta. I can't walk away. Ms. Walker, she is my Lorretta returned to me, I know she is. I cannot just stand by while she walks around the very hotel I built in her memory with no knowledge of our past. This is our second chance and I will have it" exclaimed James.

" Elizabeth can't be handled. She is dangerous snapped Liz clearly afraid for her friend then. James knew she was right, but he only sipped his drink. He could handle Elizabeth, at least, he thought he could. After all, he still had her God hidden away in the bowels of the hotel, he thought that could work to his advantage. He had all the power in this hotel whether some disagreed or not didn't matter. He was the king who had built this hotel and he would sacrifice everything he had to protect his love.

" Elizabeth isn't as formidable as you might think. She is human with very human weaknesses. Just be assured, no harm will come to Ms. Walker, I won't allow it. This is still my hotel and on my honor, I will not allow her to be harmed by anyone within these walls" James said it on a whispered growl. As he said it, Liz didn't really believe him, but suddenly she saw into the future almost. She could see he meant what he said even as she was unsure if he could see it through and that made her smile. He would try to keep his word and that was enough to make her smile.

" So what's your plan? You can't just walk up to her and tell her she was your wife in another life" whispered Liz refilling his glass.

" I know that...why is it that everyone seems to think just because I'm dead that that has suddenly made me stupid as well. I fully intend to woo her first just as I did the first time" snapped James down the rest of his drink only to have her refill it again.

" Fine then, go woo fine sir. I wish you all the luck in the world" Liz said it with a hint of sarcasm in her voice her eyes telling him she expected him to storm off to declare himself to Lorretta.

" What are you waiting for?" that sarcasm was still there even as she watched him, leaning back against the bar watching him as he sat there not moving.

" It's been a very long time since I went about courting a woman" admitted James then suddenly feeling like a scared youth again as he contemplated his first move toward wooing the woman he had set his sights on.

His words made Liz shake her head holding in a laugh. She never would have dreamed she'd see the feared killer, James Patrick March, look scared, but he did now as he considered all the ways he could approach Lorretta. It was so endearing that Liz decided to make the first move for him.

" Lorretta, could you come over here? I have to go downstairs to the desk, so you'll have to man the bar alone" James eyes widened as she said it, not hearing anything else that transpired. All he knew was suddenly Liz was gone and he was alone with Lorretta Walker. He watched her move with the same fluid grace that his Lorretta had had. He watched her lick her lips and smiling as she hummed in contentment as she worked. It was as she was refilling his glass that he worked up the nerve to speak to her.

" Thank you" whispered James receiving a smile. He held his hand out to her then and when she took it, he saw her shiver.

" My name is James March, I own this hotel" whispered James.

" I know, Liz told me that day, when you were staring. I'm Lorretta Walker" said Lorretta and just like that it had begun.


	3. The Art of Wooing

Chapter 3

James' first conversation with Lorretta Walker was the hardest one he'd ever had. After those first few words, all was silent as he nursed his drink, and she moved behind the bar. James couldn't take his eyes off her. Not just because he was searching for the words to say, but there was something else as well. He still felt out of place. It had been so long since he had sought the attention of a woman. With Elizabeth, he hadn't needed to try, his money had been all he needed. Not like with Lorretta, who he had courted, and somehow made fall in love with him. Now, he was doing it again, and he didn't know how to go about it as he watched her wishing she'd notice him doing so. She only went on moving with her ethereal grace not even glancing his way. James thought she didn't see him, but she did. Lorretta observed him quietly out of the corner of her eye. She was trying to figure him out. He was a curiosity to her as he sat in the dull beauty that was the dark lounge. She didn't know what to say or do when around him, a feeling that was unfamiliar yet also somehow known as she observed him until she found herself moving delicately back in his direction.

"Mr. March?" said Lorretta suddenly, making James look up to find her looking right at him as she stood before him now refilling his drink before leaning on the bar as if to be closer. It caught James quite off guard.

"Do you stare at every woman you meet?" said Lorretta, catching him off guard again.

"No, my dear, only those who have the beauty to deserve it. Why, does it bother you?" said James, his eyes hidden by the rim of his glass then as he downed his drink. As he drew it away again, their eyes met, and even as they were not touching there was something there. Not so much a spark, but a shiver of supernatural heat that seemed to connect them. It was something neither of them really knew how to react to as they stayed locked in their stare. It made Lorretta swear her heart was beating fast, while James could swear his own started to beat again after decades of being dormant. For James, it seemed to confirm everything he said; this woman was his beloved first wife returned to him after being taken so cruelly long ago. At his question, Lorretta seemed not to know what to say, but as she looked away, she couldn't lie to herself. She kind of liked it. The way this man looked at her with such heat in his eyes, especially after the stabbing her heart had taken from the men she had chosen to be with before. She knew she had to give him an answer, but as she was contemplating, she didn't have the words. Not for a man like him, a man of the world, who had seen things she had not. When she did answer, she leaned against the bar, and she smiled at him.

"It depends whose staring" whispered Lorretta at first, the words grabbing at his heart as he remembered them from long ago from the lips of the Lorretta he had known.

"Most men I'd say no to them staring at me the way you always seem to, but you're different. Your stare isn't creepy or frightening. On anyone else, it'd be scary, but on you, I think it's kind of sexy…enticing really" said Lorretta, her voice a low hum that drove James to want to claim her then and there before he lost his chance when she pulled away as if merely meaning to tease him as she walked away. She returned with a bar stool and sitting down on it, James found himself sitting right across from her.

"Don't be thinking what I know you are, Mr. March, I'm not that kind of girl. I get to know a man before I just walk away with him" exclaimed Lorretta next as if reading the thought that had just been in his head before she walked away. He watched her fill another glass for herself and as she nursed it, there was a tenderness in the action. It was like she was holding herself back even as she wasn't. James wondered why she would do such a thing as he watched her fingers play idly over the glass to trace unknown patterns into it. James could feel himself becoming at ease with her as she sat there. He realized this was their chance, his chance, to get a foot in the door.

"Would you be opposed to my advances?" said James, a twinkle in his eyes that faded when he saw her look in response. Something seemed to flash behind her eyes at the words. She wouldn't look at him now but peered into the clear white of her glass. Her fingers clutched the glass with a strength that seemed to suggest bad memories were playing behind those eyes as she looked at him again.

"If we had met when I was young and naïve, I would have been honored that a man like you saw fit to admire a girl like me, but not now. I'm broken material now. Been used and thrown away so many times…I don't think I'll ever let anyone close again, even you" exclaimed Lorretta, a cool resolution in her voice as the memories she spoke of seemed to drift forward into her voice. She wouldn't look at him again and James didn't know what to say as he found himself wanting to comfort her. He wanted to take her hand and assure her that that time was over, but he sensed she didn't want to be touch as her body seemed to lean away. Not from him, but from the situation itself. She didn't come back from that until James brushed a finger across her knuckles.

"Would you like to talk about it?" whispered James, entirely sincere as he gazed at her with utter devotion in his eyes.

Suddenly, all Lorretta's memories seemed to fly away, and she was remembering something else. Something from a dream or dreams that she had been having since she was very young. Dreams of his eyes or ones like them. Of hands that used to hold her, touch her, and lips that used to kiss her. She remembered the look she saw in his eyes now most of all.

"It's like I'm trying to remember something" thought Lorretta then as she remembered those eyes as they had been in the dream until looking at him now as she remembered a man from those same dreams.

"Lorretta?" whispered James then making her look him right in the eye now before shaking the memory away telling herself that this man and that one were not one in the same.

"I'm fine" whispered Lorretta then daring to smile at him as she looked deep into his eyes seeing something in them that enticed her.

"You sure you want to hear it? I wouldn't want to bore you with the story of my life" exclaimed Lorretta then being playfully even as she was serious. He saw her shiver then and he wanted to hold her, but he only ran his thumb over her knuckles in his way to sooth her. It seemed to help because she smiled at him more. As he smiled back, James could feel it warming something inside of him. Something that hadn't been warm since his Lorretta died.

"Believe me, my dear, I've got time" whispered James, silently thinking that if he didn't, he would have made the time anyway.

"Well, I guess, when I said I was unlucky in love, I meant it. I've always been a dreamer about love, I guess, but nothing came to be like I pictured it" whispered Lorretta, a single tear running down her cheek.

"It may sound stupid, but I believed in happily ever after. I thought I found that when I met Zach, but that didn't turn out well. We dated all through high school then we got married and then I found him in bed with a man. I guess, I should have suspected something…I mean, he wouldn't touch me even when we were married. It made me feel a little better when I found out. I mean, I thought it was me" exclaimed Lorretta crying and smiling at the same time until she was just crying, and James knew it was because she deeply doubted herself after everything she had experienced.

"At least, I hope it was just that…I mean, sometimes I feel like I should have known something long before we even married. I just wanted him to be the one" whispered Lorretta, her eyes suddenly on the bar her shoulders hunching in a way that made James sad to see. James took her hand in his then and when he did, she looked at him. He didn't let her talk anymore as he held her hand in a silence that for once wasn't chilling or awkward, but almost content. Lorretta hadn't felt this content with anyone in a long time. Maybe that was why she looked into his eyes leaning closer as he continued to hold her hand.

"You are a brilliant woman, Ms. Walker, alluring, and beautiful. Any man who would prefer a man to someone like you is a fool. Never doubt yourself in that way" said James, his eyes darkening in a mixture of what could have been lust and temptation as those eyes met hers in an almost sinful dance as he raised the hand, he held to meet his lips. She liked it, he could see that, maybe that was why he did it again.

"You're ravishing, my dear" whispered James wishing she would bring the man here, so he could rid her of such a fool.

"Thank you. Maybe our divorce wasn't such a bad thing after all. I thought afterward maybe that it was my second chance, but that didn't turn out either. Honestly, Mr. March, you're the first man I've felt safe with in a long time" whispered Lorretta a twinkle in her eyes as she said it. The longer she looked at him then the more at ease she felt. She was drawn to him. Like somehow, he wasn't just a man she'd just met, but someone from her past that she'd been searching for. Lorretta almost believed that as she watched him feeling that heated shiver continuously now.

"You see, my dear, you are better off. He didn't deserve a woman of your quality. No woman is as beautiful as you are you must always remember this" whispered James, gently kissing her hand once more. When she smiled, he nearly choked on his drink. It was directed at him, for him, and James cherished that as he looked back at her. He was getting his soulmate back and that smile assured him of that more then anything else.

"You're a wonderful man, James" whispered Lorretta that smile still on her face. That smile turned into a laugh when she saw the look on his face. One of pure amazement combined with an alluring seduction that Lorretta found herself drawn to even more. For as she laughed, his dark black eyes seemed to sparkle, and Lorretta could swear she was falling for this mysterious man from the shadows. When James joined her in her laughter, Lorretta finally released his hand, and propping her head on her hands, she laughed with him. They laughed together until suddenly they stopped to simply stare at each other in the dim light.

"Until I met you, I always thought it was me. Even in my last relationship, Richard always seemed to be more interested in other women rather then me. After a while, I just gave up. I want someone who's going to be with me and just me, not every woman that catches his fancy. That man didn't appear to exist until tonight though" whispered Lorretta, finishing her drink and pouring both of them another.

"I can see myself being with you, James, see myself maybe giving relationships another chance at least. I don't think you'll get bored and leave me" said Lorretta her voice like honey as the sadness seemed to leave her. James leaned close enough then, he could have kissed her, but he didn't. He only moved long wisps of hair out of her face and then he touched her beautiful skin. He had all her attention on him then and James knew he could have done it. He could have taken advantage, he could have kissed her, but he didn't. He drew his hand away and took her hand once more to kiss that instead.

As he kissed it, he pressed it to his cheek, hearing her gasp in response.

"Those men were fools, but I am not. I can promise you I will worship the ground you walk on if you'll only give me the chance" exclaimed James, knowing from the look in her eyes that he had her. She looked at him with such uncertainty then, but as it changed so did her entire demeanor. She seemed to melt before him coming closer as if to tempt him once more. He still didn't give in, he would not kiss her until the time was right, and that time was not now. He could see that she was tempted to believe him, but also afraid to. When she answered, she took her hand back from his grasp.

"I think I'll take a chance on you, Mr. March…if you don't mind us taking things slow?" said Lorretta, smiling getting him to smile now though it was somewhat somber at the word slow.

Eventually only the smiles remained in the dim lighting until even the lights seemed to dim more. Neither of them noticed it at first, not until they heard the tap of Liz's heels, and then she appeared in her usual glory. They looked at each other then and they knew the night was ending. It made them sad as they knew their time together was too.

"We're locking up for the night" called Liz, startling them both as she climbed the stairs. Liz looked at them both and she couldn't contain her smile. She could see that things had changed from the way she had left them. That something had begun between the two. She worried about it even as she didn't as she rounded the bar herself now.

"You can head home, Lorretta, and be safe getting there" said Liz as she approached the girl, shrugging on her coat. She saw the look in James' eyes then as Lorretta prepared to leave. He didn't want her to go. He already wanted to keep her, and Liz somehow knew he would someday, but that that day was not today. He would have to bide his time.

"Thank you, Liz, I'll see you tomorrow" said Lorretta then her eyes shining as she looked from Liz to James not sure how to say goodbye until she realized there was only one way to do it. Before she did though, she gave him a shock.

"Goodnight" said Lorretta, waving as she rounded the bar.

"We'll see you tomorrow, sweetie" said Liz then sensing the danger that was Elizabeth. She kept her eyes on the girl now. She wouldn't let Elizabeth hurt her even if protecting her might get her killed. That was why she was ushering her out of the hotel. She would never be safe in this hotel. That was why whenever she wasn't with James, she was with Liz because they could protect her. Maybe, but they could try. Lorretta didn't seem to want to leave though. She seemed undecided about something.

Lorretta halted herself suddenly though.

"James?" whispered Lorretta catching him off guard when she used his first name. She didn't leave though, she took the seat next to him instead, and when James looked at her, she was looking right at him. After a moment, she took his arm, and she smiled as she leaned in close enough that he thought she might kiss him. For a moment, he thought she was going to do just that. She didn't though, the only kiss he got was on his cheek. James didn't move, he remained perfectly still until her lips had left his cheek. Even then he still didn't move until finally he turned to face her. She wore an unsure smile and it was clear that she was waiting to see what his reaction would be.

"I hope I'll see you tomorrow, James, Goodnight" said Lorretta her voice timid. After a moment, she stood, and was going to leave. James all the while kept sitting there until he realized she was leaving. He didn't say anything he only waved and smiling, she waved back. And then she was gone, and James was alone with Liz.

When he noticed she wasn't there anymore, James found Liz looking at him.

"Not bad" said Liz, and he knew she referred to the way he had begun to woo Lorretta. James smiled into his glass though and downing the drink, he stiffened. A familiar scent suddenly filled the air of the hotel. When James looked across the length of his hotel, he saw Elizabeth leaving alone, all dressed in red, and he eyed her. She could never learn about Lorretta. He would not put her in harms way. After all, he still remembered when she found out about his first wife. She hadn't liked it and James suspected that was why she turned him in, but he could never really know. With that he returned to his room.


	4. Completely Unexpected Circumstances

Chapter 4

That night James found himself without his usual humor.

"It's usually quite humorous, a ghost sleeping, but tonight my mind is on other things" thought James, his mind restless as he stared bemused at the ceiling of his room. He couldn't sleep at all because he couldn't help wondering if Elizabeth leaving just after Lorretta was a bad omen. He had women on the brain, each important to his life story, but each plagued his mind so that he couldn't quite blink without seeing one of them. Elizabeth, the woman he had mistaken for his second chance. Lorretta, the woman who had always inspired him to be and do what other said was impossible, who had loved him, and left him without any choice at all. Finally, there was Lorretta Walker, someone who he didn't quite know what to do with. She had utterly shocked him with that kiss on the cheek and he longed to see how she would shock him next. He somehow knew this was his true second chance. His chance to be with his Lorretta again after their story had been abruptly ended. It all had James' mind in a tales spin.

In his time as a ghost, James had often thought of his time with Lorretta, but never so much to say he dwelled on it. He often wondered if his life would have ended the way it did if Lorretta hadn't died. He wondered where their lives would have left them. If children might have been in their future or maybe if it would have been the two of them forever. He wondered what she would have thought of the Cortez, the hotel he built in his grief for her, and if she would have considered it fitting to honor her memory. Most of all, he missed the soft touch of her skin, and the lilt of her voice. The soft kiss of her lips on his own. James thought he would have those things again with Lorretta Walker, but he was afraid to let himself give in to expectation. James knew he had experienced the same thing with Elizabeth, but now was different. He somehow sensed that this was real. It wasn't like with Elizabeth, who had done these things merely to reel him in, not because she loved him, but because she wanted his money.

"I was just a makeshift possession for the man she could never have" thought James, he had realized it after he had died, when he noticed the way she seemed only to think of him as a possession, her husband, but any mention of his past, and she became silent, it was a silence that used to kill him.

"I should never have married her" thought James, as another memory passed over him, one that secure the very thought in his mind. It didn't come when she tried to run off with the film star or when she saw him kill the first time; it came when she discovered a photo of Lorretta he had hidden away.

"Elizabeth?" called James, entering his office that day to find her standing with her back to him in front of his desk, and before he could say anything else the photo that he'd in a drawer in his desk was thrown at him.

"Who's the pretty girl, James?" said Elizabeth, her voice not even raising an iota as she turned looking quite calmly at him only frowning as he paid her no mind choosing to focus on picking up the picture as it lay on the floor after hitting the wall. James hadn't answered her at first as he picked up the picture of Lorretta.

She had paid to have it taken and given it to him before they were married. Her hair was swept over her shoulders, she appeared to be looking off into the distance, and she was smiling. When he ignored her that only made it worse?

"Who is she, James?" said Elizabeth remaining calm even as she came closer to him. James still didn't answer until she went to snatch the photo out of his hands.

James grabbed her wrist, a wild look in his eye as he did. She snatched it back as he was looking between her and the photo. James seemed to caress it with his fingers then as his eyes centered on the love of his life and back to his current wife. He felt Elizabeth staring at him but ignored it. There was something almost tender in him now, something that had died with his beloved first wife, but returned when his thoughts strayed to her once more. Elizabeth felt utterly bewildered at it as she experienced it for the first time in that moment.

"This woman was my first wife" snapped James, pushing Elizabeth harshly away. He put emphasis on the first part as he walked away.

"Interesting…I thought that was me" said Elizabeth still remaining calm as she followed him with her eyes, her body pivoting to do the same, the whole time wanting him to look at her as he sat behind his desk not bothering to do so. When he did, she was still standing where he'd left her.

Elizabeth was at her mostly deadly when she was silent. Most would have thought it was when she was yelling or screaming, but when she was silent there was something about her that chilled him. Her face was calm, her eyes cool and scathing, but it was her hands. They were clenched into fists at her side, her whole form was swaying as if in a one on one dance, and after a moment he noticed the tears that seemed to blend in with the white of her face.

"It appears there are more secrets you've failed to tell me other than the fact that you enjoy killing little nobodies in your spare time" whispered Elizabeth in that moment, her voice shrill as she lingered all the closer. After a moment, she turned, the look in her eyes ferile, each step as she approached precise. James had been waiting for her to scream. For some womanly theatrics that he had come to expect from women, but Elizabeth didn't do any of that. She only slapped him across the face. He had expected it, but when he looked at her again, he wasn't expecting her to repeat the action. When he looked again, Elizabeth was leaning over his desk, her eyes peering into his, and James found he feared her for the first time. Elizabeth looked unwaveringly into his eyes as her hand went around his throat. She held him in place and that was when the calm fell away. She looked at him with such rage in her eyes. James wasn't sure if it was because he'd lied to her or because there had been another before her, but after it was over, he had his answer. It was because he was not solely hers the way he wanted, but that he would always belong to a woman that was very much dead.

"You married me. It doesn't matter whether I'm your first wife or your hundredth…you are mine to do as I please and so is this hotel. No dead woman can or will overshadow me. It is all mine and believe me, James…I'll do what must be done to keep all I've gained" exclaimed Elizabeth her eyes a wicked black as they looked into his. James had never been afraid of his wife until that moment. Afraid she might leave him, yes, but never afraid she could end his life. After that day though, he knew he hadn't married any ordinary woman, but someone not to be disregarded. When she flung him with ease back into his chair, James only looked after her as she stood straight up and watched him with eyes that had retained their calm. She left the room then with his eyes still on her. His eyes never left her as she did, and they hadn't since. His hand had gone instinctively to his throat and James had thought for a moment that his wife was going to kill him. That she would be the reason he died. He didn't know how she would do it or when, but he had thought it. He hadn't considered it as more then a thought until he died. After that James had found out so many things about his wife. About her immortality. She was no longer some actress with nothing on her side, but she had turned into what she was now. The Countess. Someone to be feared and guard yourself against. She was poison, James realized, and he had murdered himself the second he said I do. It took her hand around his throat to make him truly realize that.

"She never loved me, she loved the smell of my money" thought James after that, remembering all the times she'd simply ignored him when he said the words to her. She always only seemed to care about the money and the circles it put her in.

"She turned me in because she wasn't the love of my life, but the worst mistake of my life" thought James, as the memory faded. James had died mere weeks after this had happened. As he thought of it then though, he didn't feel remorse over having never told Elizabeth, but instead, remorse over having married her at all. He hadn't been heartbroken over her but felt only disappointment. Part of him had hoped when he died that he would see Lorretta again in the afterlife, but she wasn't there. He had remained in the hotel where he had been left to think of her in the afterlife as he had in death. Where he had been left to watch Elizabeth turn the Cortez into the emptiness it was today. He had lost all hope of seeing Lorretta again until she had returned to him again.

"Ms. Walker has made her so much more then a memory now" thought James in that moment thinking of the two women side by side, one a memory that he would always have, and the other her likeness.

"I would not be the man I am without Lorretta" whispered James, remembering the unfaltering confidence she always had in him; it was akin to the trust Ms. Walker had now. For a while, he had thought you could only love like that once. He had lived to dwell on his former wife and then she had returned to him. Lorretta Walker had appeared, and he found himself invigorated again. His afterlife was not merely a time spent killing the worthless. She gave it new meaning. James found himself thinking of her and wondering what she was doing as he was. It reminded him of when he first met his wife. How he had been the same way.

That night James couldn't help thinking of his younger self. A man who had once believed that he'd never find love at all. Who had pined after Lorretta Wilson until forces beyond his control had pushed them together? As James was finally closing his eyes to go into his ghostly sleep, he was thinking of that night. He had been going over the books with no one else around. Walter had left him to watch over things. The wind was blowing branches up against the building and that was the only sound until the door opened with a chime. James looked up from his book just as Lorretta Wilson stumbled into the shop looking a chaotic yet beautiful mess.

The wind had swept her beauty around, but as she stood collecting herself, James had found himself utterly speechless as he gazed unabashedly at her. Her hair covered her face and as she moved it away with her hands, James noticed the intricate way she pushed it behind her ears. Once there he had a perfect view of her face, so pale, and her eyes looking at him yet not at the same time. There was something bewitching about the way she looked at him then as if waiting for something unexpected.

"Hello Mr. March" said Lorretta, her voice flowing over a young James like the wind just outside of the door as she stepped towards the counter he stood behind.

"Is something the matter or do you stare at every girl that comes into this shop?" whispered Lorretta, breaking him out of his revelry his eyes stuck on the shape of her face as she leaned against the counter towards him. As she watched him then James didn't know how to respond at first. He had never felt this way around a woman before. All the others he'd been around had been just girls, but this one seemed to capture every part of him with her very presence. James didn't know what to make of it or do about it as he stared continuously at her.

"You face is perfect" whispered James, not even realizing it as the words left his mouth.

Lorretta's smile at those words had been brilliant.

"I hope that means I'm the only girl you share at" exclaimed Lorretta on a laugh. She looked at him with those eyes then her eyes glowing like embers in a fire. He loved the way she'd looked at him in that moment as if no one else mattered. She always looked at him like that. Like he was the most important man in the world. It had taken him too long to realize that was because to her, he was. James knew now it had been love at first sight. That together, they had been utterly caught up with each other, and that had never really ended. James remembered looking into those eyes and feeling love. He had never been able to deny her anything because of it. Because all she had to do was look at him and he was hers. Lorretta could give him the power he needed when she looked into his eyes. She could make him speechless and tongue tied. She could inspire him in both a great kill and a great investment. Lorretta was his greatest strength and he hadn't felt weak until he'd lost her. All these years, James had been weak, but now that those eyes had returned, that she had returned, he felt powerful again. On that day in the shop though, Lorretta had made him nothing, but tongue tied.

"Yes, I mean…I'm sorry if it bothers you. Does it…I mean, bother you?" exclaimed James, it was the first time he had been at a loss for words since he was a boy.

"it depends who's staring…since its you…I'm say no. I kind of like when you stare" said Lorretta, smiling at the look that appeared on his face. Nothing else was said between them as she handed him her list of things. As James gathered them for her, he was still watching her, and taking note of everything she did. The way she swayed on her feet in her graceful yet flowing way. The way she licked her lips and tilted her head to the side to watch him as he worked. James found he liked being watched by her as he rang up her purchases. James had been with a few women before, but with Lorretta he had made up his mind. She was the most enticing girl he'd come upon. They didn't speak again until she was preparing to leave, and she was struggling to get out the door with her load of groceries when Walter entered the shop through the back.

"James! What on earth are you doing letting Lorretta leave like this without even offering to help her home. I thought I taught you better. You walk her home with those groceries right now" snapped Walter his voice coming as a boom from the end of an aisle. James instantly did as he said taking the bags. It was as they were leaving the shop that he thought he saw Walter smile. James knew now it had all been a part of the plan to get him to talk to the pretty girl.

"Be a man, Jimmy" said Walter as he had passed him, his hand thumping him on the back in what he thought then was anger, but what had really been a type of encouragement that hurried his steps as he left the shop with the pretty girl.

James had been nervous walked side by side with her. He kept thinking of things to say to her, but nothing seemed right. Walter had said to be a man, but he wanted to impress her. He didn't know how to do that as he watched her out of the corner of his eyes. She had had to start a conversation with him.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you, Jimmy March" said Lorretta breaking the long silence and in doing so changing everything. They had walked in silence until Lorretta had said that clearing her throat making him look at her.

"So, what's your plan, Jimmy March?" said Lorretta, looking at him as she walked by his side.

"Don't say you don't got one…I can see it in your eyes that you do" said Lorretta, her eyes always on him as he walked by her side feeling amazed that she seemed to see so much about him already.

"You have that look about you, Jimmy, like you're gonna be someone great" said Lorretta, his eyes not being able to look away then as she said that, finding her more beautiful then ever before as she walked beside him in her simply gray dress with her skin shining in the low light.

"No one's ever seen that, but me" whispered James, truly looking at her now. She looked right back with no hesitation and that was the first time he felt it. The connection with her that he'd never found in anyone else. She somehow knew that he was going to be something, and they had only just met. It was the first time James had been utterly astounded by anyone in his life. It was the first time someone had believed in him who wasn't Walter Fitz. That was why he marveled at her the way he did in that moment.

"Well, Mr. Fitz said he was teaching you a thing or two. What do you hope to get out of it?" exclaimed Lorretta, she was smiling with those eyes flashing in a viscous simplicity. It had attracted him, not just his heart, but every part of him until looking at her, James felt a distinct connection. No one had ever asked him what he wanted before.

"I want to be a wealthy man who people won't look down upon. I want to be better than my father. I want people to treat me with respect" exclaimed James all at once. There was some vigor in him then as he let it all out. He had never let any of that out. He always kept it where only he could see, but now, she saw it too. Walter didn't even understand and yet, this girl who he barely knew saw him better then those who had. It shook him even as it enlightened him. It made it so he couldn't take his eyes off her in that moment. During it all, James had stopped moving, and together they stood in the center of the road. Lorretta was still standing right next to him, watching him, and as their eyes stared linked together, James realized as she came closer to him. Her hand touched his shoulder and he found he felt a warmth in her touch. They didn't keep walking for a long time and when they did, there was something between them, but neither of them quite knew what it was yet.

"I think you will be better than your father, Jimmy. I think you have the potential to blow this whole world away…I just hope I get to see it" said Lorretta after they started walking again her eyes filled with a type of raw emotion that was strictly for him when her eyes met his. She didn't say another word to him the rest of the way to her house. She only walked why his side, her eyes watching him until they reached her house. He left the groceries on the porch and moved to walk away. As he did, he could feel her watching him, and he watched to look back at her. He didn't though, not until she called out to him. At first, he just stopped, his back still turned to her. He didn't know what he'd find when he looked at her again.

"Jimmy" called Lorretta, her voice softer now making him turn around to walk back towards her.

James found himself standing at the edge of her porch with her body mere inches from his. As she stood on the top step, he had to look up at her, and he saw that same raw emotion illuminated in her eyes. When she touched his cheek with a gentle hand, he looked right at her letting her see his surprise, and she had only smiled. Her touch had been soothing even then as she used it to make him look at her.

"I hope you do everything you want in this life, Jimmy. I'll be thinking about you…because I think you're meant to be something…I'm not sure what, but I think you do. Just don't give up" said Lorretta, as she finished, she smiled. Her eyes wouldn't let his drift away. They peered unabashedly into his and James had been tempted to kiss her. It was the first time he ever wanted to do that, but it wouldn't be the last. He didn't kiss her though, the time hadn't been right, but he hoped he would get a second chance as he took a step back. What he didn't know though was that she wasn't done speaking yet. She caught him before he could. Stepping down from the porch, she was looking into his eyes as she stood at his height now, and James could only watch her. He didn't know what she was going to do. She had him on the edge of the world as she just stood there looking right at him.

"I hope I won't be seeing you just when I go into Mr. Fitz's store. I'd like it very much if you came to call one of these days. You're the most interesting gentleman this place has to offer" exclaimed Lorretta, her voice running over him like the wind had her. She touched his face again as if to assure him she meant it. When her hand left his cheek, James thought now was his time to leave, but she wouldn't let him go yet. Not until her lips touched his cheek in a chaste kiss. Only then did she step back onto her porch, her eyes twinkling in the dull light of the coming twilight leaving him to walk away with his eyes always straying back to see if she was still there.

The smile wouldn't leave his face that night. He was in love with Lorretta Wilson. As James closed his eyes, he was still in love with his Lorretta, but now, he found himself utterly besotted with her image returned to him. When James finally slept, he was happy and scared and uncertain. He didn't know how anything would turn out with Lorretta Walker, but he hadn't known how they'd turn out with Lorretta Wilson either. He had merely taken a shot in the dark and it had paid off. He had had the greatest experience of his life and now, he might do it again.


End file.
